htaccess problems, server problems, my zen world is falling apart (streamline.net)

My complete zen world is falling to bits. I have spend many hours working on a shop and after about 2 months working fine,,,,, in the last week I have had some major problems. First I got the red warning message that my configure.php was writeable (my server done something and this just appeared after 2 months of running fine) then last night I had a complete access problem. and had no website showng online. I suspect caused by my server doing a service and server upgrade. GRrrrr

anyway I asked them to investigate why my site had a problem, their latest reply is..........

Thank you for your query

This is caused by a .htaccess file that is incorrect, and you will need to remove or fix this file your website will work. More detailed information on the errors caused can be found in the logfiles folder on the root of your hosting.

Please note: .htaccess can only be used for controlling mod_rewrite or when used for password protection with .htpaswd.

I know that I have done absolutely nothing my end to cause a problem and I have no idea how to fix this problem. Apart from the fact I am now looking for a new server as my shop now looks completely wrecked and I just looked at it again and it's come back BUT looks like it has no template.......................

Can anyone help me get my shop back as it should be? :o(

Sounds like your hosting company has changed their htaccess rules.

FAQ on why styling disappears with some htaccess setups:
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=235

DrByte
Thankyou for the reply and link to tutorial. I checked in my online files and .htaccess was already set at .htaccess_OFF in both /includes/.htaccess file & /admin/includes/.htaccess
my site https://www.starshotz.co.uk still looks "up the creek" with no stylesheet. I noticed from my servers login page that they had scheduled maintenance across their linux servers "for upgrade of our servers from PHP4 to PHP5" about the time my site started going haywire.

So even set at .htaccess_OFF it still has no style sheet. I have filled in yet another support ticket and pasted the information from the tutorial with the information that they should do their end............now I just have to keep my fingers crossed for 24 hours while I await their reply..............sigh

Why can't they just leave things as they are??? grumble grumble grumble:(

Start checking all of your files against your last working back up - looks as though you are missing at least one language file.

Additionally, what version of Zen Cart are you using?

I am using a current version - so I guess the latest installed Dec 07

Version 1.3.8a

I have the ability on my server to change to a windows server from Linux. Would that be a good move? And if it is can I just change my server in control panel or will I be cuasing myself more headaches?

http://www.starshotz.co.uk/includes/templates/classic/css/stylesheet.css
Access Forbidden

At least now you know why your CSS file is not being used.

Sounds like your Hoster changed the way Apache and PHP work together. If your Admin is still accessible you can find out by using:
Admin > Tools > Server Version/Info

Then look for this line, it's about 10 inches down from the page top:

**Server API **- does it say Apache or CGI?

fr3spirit:

I have the ability on my server to change to a windows server from Linux. Would that be a good move?No, not likely.

**It says......Server API CGI/FastCGI **

I did receive a reply from my support ticket....

Thank you for your query

Some of our linux servers have now been upgraded to php5.

Please see the following link for more information:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/migration5.php

You may also want to consult our knowledge base article:
http://www.streamlinesupport.net/index.php?page=show&id=216
So I guess I am going to be doing some reading and learning this weekend..... just the line "migration5.php" has got me worried..........thinking I am going to have to do a full migration rather than play with one or two files?

It sounds like your Hoster made some Server wide changes and rather than inform Clients and/or do the necessary Client changes themselves, they left their Clients in the dark and their sites in various states of disarray.

What you need to do is make sure all directories have 755 permissions and all files have 644 permissions. The easiest way to do that is in Shell but you may not have Shell access. I would ask your Hoster, since they caused the problem, to make sure your dir. & file permissions are as they should be. Would take them all of 5 minutes.

If they won't do it then you can do it yourself by using your FTP to check everything manually. Probably take you 20 - 30 minutes.

Also, make sure any of your ".htaccess" files do not include anything about PHP. The default Zen Cart .htacces files are fine as they are but if 'you' made any changes you should double check.

Website Rob
I am definately in the dark! I am looking for a new host as they are @~:{ing useless! I constantly ask them to make the changes required and not reply with a tutorial link, which is what they always do. Grrrr

Ok I can check all the files in FTP. I don't know about SHELL and see nothing in my control panel about it.

I have made no changes to the htaccess, I checked them last night and they were already at htaccess_OFF

Are there any files at all that need to be anything other than 644?

Now I just have to remember the configuration for 755 settings are and what 644 settings are and fingers crossed again that this solves the problem.

Oh what fun

When you go looking for a new host,
make sure that if they are running php as cgi that (1) they know how to run it that way, and also (2) get a host that will move your site for you and configure it to work on the new server.

Merlin
Yes thanks for that tip. I am looking at advancednetworkhost.com as they were recommeded by another zencart user who sells similar goods to mine. They seem pretty quick to answer any questions I have submitted. It's just another pain I could do without....transfer of domain name etc
Funny enough now I have told my host that I am hacked off with their uselessness and looking for a new host they are starting to reply in a more timely manner.....still looking though!

Your FTP program should tell you what to use for 755 & 644 settings.

Not that big of a deal to change Hosters, if the new Hoster is willing to help. Changing Nameservers will take effect about 10 minutes after you update, so make sure you have the new Hosting account setup first.

Thank you all for your help, you guys rock!
I changed all the files & folder perms and it's now back online looking like it should! At last I can get on with some work to complete it.

Merlin, I have checked out Camelot host and will transfer my business to Camelot in the next month or so! Streamline can say bye bye to my money!

I have completed the sorting out on my own (with your help) with no help from streamline.nets useless tech support and want to move my site before they start playing around again.....Grrrrrrr

I am so glad I found this thread — my store was doing exactly the same thing, and with your help I am back to normal (well almost).

I have found a new host and am ditching streamline.net, it has been nothing but bother with them.

Most stuff is transferred over to a temp server now and the databases are going on Monday, so keep your fingers crossed!!

Anywhoo — thank you so much for this piece of wonderful troubleshooting advice! :bigups:

streamline.net is a shocking host!!! we had so many issues with them - our site gave constant 500 server errors and would erratically very slow. it was clearly linked to their databases being horribly overloaded, but they just don't care. by the end of the year, our site was offline more often than it was online.

their e-mail servers went down on a number of occasions. when they finally came back up, we had lost all the e-mails (including our test e-mails) sent in the interim. when you contact them to tell them that e-mails aren't working, their first response is to tell you to check YOUR settings, and that's after telling them that you haven't changed a thing and that they've obviously got issues.

We've finally moved :), and had a lot less stress in our lives since.

angeli:

streamline.net is a shocking host!!! we had so many issues with them - our site gave constant 500 server errors and would erratically very slow. it was clearly linked to their databases being horribly overloaded, but they just don't care. by the end of the year, our site was offline more often than it was online.

their e-mail servers went down on a number of occasions. when they finally came back up, we had lost all the e-mails (including our test e-mails) sent in the interim. when you contact them to tell them that e-mails aren't working, their first response is to tell you to check YOUR settings, and that's after telling them that you haven't changed a thing and that they've obviously got issues.

We've finally moved :), and had a lot less stress in our lives since.

Nothing strange about their response. This is the standard in the industry...first blame the "idiot user". I have used more than 15 different hosting companies and had identical problems and responses from all of them...except for bluehost. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with them. Have been using them for about 3 years now.

Damn it, I've been wrestling with problems setting up Zen cart for hours. I'm with streamline.net. I guess that's the problem...:(